Even the finest of sports cars were pressed into military service during World War II. This 1933 Aston Martin long-wheelbase Second Series Le Mans model was photographed in the summer of 1942 at the Royal Radar Establishment. It appears that a piece of electronic equipment, sitting on the back seat, has been transported from the lab to the aircraft to be unloaded and fitted.
The aircraft is an Avro Anson Mk. 1, N4871 fitted with a 50cm ASV (Air-to-Surface Vessel radar; the array can be seen on the nose of the plane. The Anson was powered by Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah seven-cylinder radial engines. It was primarily a trainer rather than a combat aircraft, which ties in with its use here to develop and test ASV radar.
The car carries the telltale wartime white paint on its wings and on some kind of bar across the back of the car – essential to avoid being hit by other vehicles, with their highly restrictive headlamp covers, during night-time driving.
AXU 181 survives and was featured in an auction a few years ago. The Le Mans label was first applied to the competition version of the First Series International after Aston Martin achieved a class win and fifth place overall in the 1931 Le Mans race. The same model achieved fifth and seventh in the 1932 race and collected the Rudge-Whitworth Biennial Cup. This model may well be the first car ever to be named after the Le Mans race.
With the recession of the early 1930s Aston Martin made the wise decision to redesign the International chassis using proprietary components to reduce cost, such as a Laycock gearbox and an ENV spiral bevel rear axle. This so-called ‘New International’ was offered at a reduced price of £475, but the Le Mans version was significantly more expensive at £595. Only 85 Second Series Le Mans models were made between February 1932 and December 1933, and only 17 were long-wheelbase examples such as this car.
We are very grateful to SAHB member Graham Skillen for providing the photograph and much additional information on the aircraft and the car.
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